Praemium records first annual profit



Praemium have announced its first annual profit, recording a 28 per cent increase in total revenue at $24.5 million for the 2014-15 financial year.
CEO Michael Ohanessian attributed the results to a record 35 per cent fund growth in Praemium's global SMA platforms, with further growth in fund inflows from both existing and new clients expected for the next 12 months.
"We have continued to deliver on our strategic initiatives [such as] the acquisition of Plum Software [which] will accelerate our UK product offering," he said.
"With major product enhancements this year, including self-managed superannuation funds [SMSF] functionality within V-Wrap and our new Investor Portal, we aim to solidify client relationships and drive sales".
The annual results show a 49 per cent increase in SMA funds on platform, which rose to $3.8 billion, with a sustained growth across all products and markets for Praemium in Australia, UK and Asia.
The Australian business segment was also on the rise, recording an underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) result of $8.9 million with a 52 per cent increase in segment profit.
EBITDA for the second half of the 2014-15 financial year was $1.3 million, up by 44 per cent on earnings for the first half.
According to Ohanessian, Praemium recorded a significant improvement in operating cashflow of $4.2 million for the 2014-15 financial year, as the company looks to build on its growth momentum in the coming months across the entire business.
"In Australia, we'll build upon our profitable and scalable business model with the addition of SMSF functionality within V-Wrap and the expansion of retail superannuation within our SMA," he said.
"Given the size of the opportunity, we believe our strategy to build a solid global business will prove highly valuable to our shareholders."
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